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Submitted by Ëþáîâü Âàñèëüåâà on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 18:01

The day started early for everyone and fortunately the weather couldn’t have been better. It was warm and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. On arrival at Palace Square at 9am there was already a huge crowd ready to watch the military parade. Petersburg is flat, meaning that those who weren’t at the front of the crowd saw very little at all. For Petersburgers, this didn’t seem to matter and the most important thing was just being there. I myself managed to find a good vantage point sitting on the edge of a skip. Others stood on the side of skips while a small group climbed onto a statue and others scaled trees. Thankfully, there were no British style health and safety officials around.

During the military parade the band played, the soldiers marched and then the Russian national anthem was played.As I watched, I was trying to understand in my mind what makes the occasion so special for the Russians. Towards the end of the parade, I started to work out the answer. For the most part, the crowd around me were happy but fairly quiet. Then there was a big cheer when the parade of military vehicles began. There were armoured cars, military lorries and several tanks. The armoured cars and lorries were carrying soldiers dressed for battle as they would have been during the war. At this point, I got a sense that people were very proud of the army that had driven the Germans out of Petersburg and ultimately out of Russia.

The early morning parade finished just before 11 and then the people went for a day in the city. While Victory Day is a holiday for many Russians, it is in fact one of the busiest days of the year for anyone working in for example a café, bar or restaurant. Most of the shops were open for business too which is a natural thing considering the amount of people in the city. The point is that while thousands celebrated, for others it was business as usual.

At 5 o’clock in the evening the Veteran’s Parade took place on the main street Nevsky Prospekt. As a spectator I got a truer sense of what Victory Day means to the people. All the way up Nevsky Prospeckt veterans and their family members received huge cheers. Young ladies were allowed to break ranks with the crowd to hand flowers to the veterans. After the many cheers, there were loud cries of “Spasibo, Spasibo, Spasibo!” – the Russian word for “thank you”. The word was said with true and genuine feeling and I got a sense that the people were really thankful for what the veterans had done for their city and country.

I was lucky enough to speak to a 23-year-old lady who told me what Victory Day means to her and her family. On Victory Day, it is her family’s tradition to visit the site of a crucial battle, which opened a supply route for food to be brought to the starving people of Petersburg during the Blockade. She told me that although she is of a younger generation, she feels personally grateful for this and she likes to express it by giving flowers to the veterans.



That the younger people should feel so grateful is largely down to upbringing and education. Children are brought up to be very proud of their city and country. I am told that they learn about the war and how their city was heroically saved by the men who fought. I believe that as long as the new generations keep learning about what happened, the genuine feelings of thanks and celebration on Victory Day will continue for years to come.

On the day, the celebrations ended with a concert of special Russian performances in Palace Square. There was Russian dancing, singing and even a bit of opera! It was a thoroughly pleasant occasion. At 10pm the celebrations were rounded off by a firework display at the Peter and Paul Fortress. All in all it was a wonderful day.

Submitted by Ëþáîâü Âàñèëüåâà on Fri, 05/11/2012 - 18:01

Hi Rufus, thank you for the interesting article! What is the attitude to this day in your country?

  • Submitted by Alex Jude on Mon, 05/14/2012 - 06:57

VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) isn't really celebrated in the UK as it is in Russia. Here, it's a solemn occasion rather than a celebration of independence and freedom from a foreign invader. Where you have the orange and black striped ribbon, here we wear red paper poppies as a symbol of remembrance. Money from the sale of these poppies is donated to veterans' charities. Some people leave flowers and wreaths on war memorials and graves, but there are no big parades as far as I know. We definitely don't have tanks in the streets or anything like that. I think there may be some army-related traditions but they are fairly low-key affairs.

  • Submitted by Ëþáîâü Âàñèëüåâà on Thu, 05/17/2012 - 18:09

It`s interesting. I think, for most russian people it isn`t actually a celebration. It`s a tragic day. But for some people it`s sadly only an occasion to drink. We wear red poppies on demonstrations in Soviet times - on the 1st of May and on the 7th of November. What about military parade - I think it is a habit of the Cold War times when our goverment wanted to show to the enemy (USA) how strong we are and how many weapons we have. It seems that in 20 years we`ll have the same form of celebration that the UK has now.

  • Submitted by Alex Jude on Fri, 05/18/2012 - 05:46

Forgot to mention Remembrance Day - that's the main day for all British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in the line of duty since WWI. For more, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day


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